#that’s Me Right Now

closed starter for tobias, @fram3s

location: el carnaval de invierno, snowball fight

it’s almost criminal to not have a snowball fight at least once during the winter ⸻ maybe that’s just her opinion, but rachel is confident that most would agree with her. with excitement all over her face, her aim is set on a friend before she finally launches the ball. much to her horror, it somehow ends up hitting someone else who just happened to be in the way. “oh shoot, i’m so sorry,” the apology comes quick, almost like a reflex, as rachel rushes over to them. “that’s totally my bad! i wasn’t really looking before i-” and she really wasn’t, because if she did and saw tobias passing by, she would have hold herself back and wait until he’s gone. “i promise i wasn’t doing it on purpose,” you were just in the way, “sorry for getting in your way though. you can hit me back if you want?” rachel doesn’t even know why she said it, but it just sounds right, albeit the wavering tone. “i mean, just do it. that way we’ll be even, yeah?”

although jackie is technically on a break right now, she still makes sure to do her daily workout at the local gym. it’s how she meets vanni in the first place; jackie appreciates his assistance whenever she comes in to do her sets and today is no different. focusing on her breath, she pushes the bar back to the starting position, only sitting up once vanni helps her rack the barbell. “alright thank you, coach,” she tells vanni, reaching for her bottle to drink some water. “can i get both? i feel like i deserve a free drink and a bouquet if we’re going for a pr. maybe even a special handwritten note from you while we’re at it,” she chuckles. putting down her water bottle, jackie starts stretching as she ponders over the thought. “how about you decide on the plate this time? i mean, you’ve seen me do this for a while so you probably know what’s my limit. what do you think, coach?”

who: vanni && jackie ! [ @detruines ] where: gimnasio o2 aire

he's spotting jackie while she does bench presses, watching her carefully from above and keeping an eye on every little detail. the last thing he wanted was for her to accidentally injure herself while just trying to get a good workout in. "come on, get it up. you got this. good shit, jackie." he's encouraging her, cheering her on to finish up her set. he helps her rack the barbell as soon as she's done and nods his head in approval. "alright rest for a minute before we do your last set. give yourself a little bit of a stretch and drink some water. you wanna try for a pr today? if you do it, i'll get you a free drink from blooms as a reward. or a bouquet if you want, either works. just tell me what plate you want me to load up." even though she hasn't even answered yet, vanni's already looking on to the rack of plates so that he could load up the bar.

although the night shifts at the hospital are getting easier to manage by now, rachel couldn’t deny that she still loses track of time now and then. having been a morning person for most of her life, she finds it weird to go bed at the time she usually wakes up and start her day when it’s already noon ⸻ it’s a routine that she’s slowly getting used to, and to avoid going out while she’s recovering from a night shift, she would usually opt to cook for lunch. rachel has always been the type to favor homemade food over anything else, but after staring at her almost empty fridge for a hot minute, she realizes that she might have forgotten to do grocery shopping that week. well, it’s not like it never happened before.

after much contemplation she decides to go out, thinks it would be a good idea to have a walk and eat outside for a change. rachel stops by plantas atlas on her way, something that she does out of habit since moving into the area. how could she not? it’s the only place she knows she could find felix, and despite her own stomach growling she couldn’t help but wonder if he has eaten, if he’s doing well at all. rachel doesn’t really expect he would emerge from the back door, just like the other times she’s come here, but there he is. she finally manages to catch felix at the right time and yet she freezes in her spot, unsure what to even say first.

“would you even pick up if i call first?” she asks, although she already knows that he wouldn’t. it’s why she chooses to linger around his plant shop instead; it would be harder to avoid her if they run into each other like this anyways. “i came here to see you,” she admits, tears welling up in her eyes. “i was just on my way to get lunch. have you eaten yet?“ 

( @detruines )

this is quickly becoming a habit; felix falling asleep at plantas atlas, whether it's over inventory or simply a bottle of something a little too strong for even his taste - his clothes rumpled from an unsteady sleep each morning as he tries to leave unnoticed, like some sort of late night call. it's not his fault that on most days - it's already dark by the time he gets out of the shop; it's not his fault that he's scared of - not the dark - but driving in it. it's one of those fears that grip him as hard as he grips the steering wheel, knuckles white with the anxiety. he probably couldn't drive, even if he wanted to; his body reacts too physically to the memories.

so he sleeps there, sometimes - so what? it's never been a problem before; nobody stops him out of concern, nobody checks his whereabouts. nobody disrupts his routine. but it's half - past noon, and he's slept in - and god, there's this crick in his neck that makes him feel like he's one second away from just being stuck at an angle, permanently; and he needs coffee. badly. so he slips out of the backroom, and out of plantas atlas - already open, already in full swing - in his wrinkly, day - before clothes with his head ducked down... and runs into no other than rachel. "oh - christ -" it's too late to turn back around; he's already lingering in the doorway for far too long than he personally likes. he hates people lingering in the doorways - it's either come in, or get out.

"- what are you doing here?" it comes out harsher than he expects it to - a combination of a bad night's sleep, and genuine surprise; caught off guard. "ever thought about fucking... calling first, sometime?"

without a beat, her infamous catchphrase comes out as soon as she hears salem. "why not? i mean if you pay for it, that shouldn't be a problem, no?" jackie has no idea if any of these cats are for purchase, but she believes when there's a will there's a way, and if not, she's pretty sure they could work something out. "i guess you can talk to the owner about it or something," she suggests, a playful smile toying on her lips when an idea suddenly pops into her head. "or don't. it's not like you can get arrested for stealing a cat," then a pause. "can you?" she's unsure. well, now that the realization begins to hit her, maybe they should just abort that mission. "you did say you want to pay for it. i think that works."

status: open @valpostart location: el café de los gatos

“so like….hypothetically speaking if someone wanted one of these cats could they have one?” she asked the person beside her while her gaze was fixed on a larger grey tabby cat. salem being at the cat cafe wouldn’t surprise anyone ( neither would wanting to take in a random stray ) and she knew it would have to be one of the first stops she made as soon as she came back to town. as she crouched down to pet it she wondered how much her own cat would object to a sibling. she seemed to do well with “boat cat” after all. “i mean obviously i would pay for it and ask if i could have it but like can the cats leave with human if they want to?” 

MOON GA YOUNG 문가영 — Le Coq Sportif x 2023 tennis collection

“that’s right! you really shouldn’t miss breakfast. it’s the most important meal of the day,” rachel chirps, although she couldn’t say the same about the others. it’s easy to miss lunch or dinner when she gets too caught up with work sometimes, but she often makes it up with midnight snacks; that’s if she ever remembers to eat them. there is a bashful smile on her face when she heard rania, head shaking softly in response to her words. “oh come on, you said it just fine! at least you know what it means and how to use it. i gotta give you props for that,” she teases, listening attentively when rania talks about her kid. “thanks for the tip, mama. i think i’m good with french braids. might need to work on the fishtail and learn the others though.” it’s not like rachel is getting married nor getting kids anytime soon, but it’s nice to be prepared, right? a laugh escapes from her mouth. “sounds about right. anything else i need to know about having kids?”

"of course, have to be fueled up to take on the day." she takes a sip of her own coffee, grinning at the younger woman, "so good? wow. incredible, we're off to a great start." she reaches out and gives rachel's shoulder a friendly squeeze, "see? 'manifesting' sounds so much more normal coming out of your mouth." oh to be young and hip. rania agrees then, nodding, "you're right. self-care is important!" and something she neglects and is bad at, but that is not important right now, "mmm, i'm fine. sonia threw a fit over her hair this morning, but nothing a french braid couldn't fix." she snorts, teasing, "if you ever had kids? add different types of braiding to the list of things to know. a little french or fishtail can remedy almost anything. it's like me and a cup of coffee. healing, even."

as a morning person, for the first two weeks rachel had a hard time adjusting her sleeping schedule now that she's given night shifts at the hospital. it's nothing she couldn't manage of course ⸻ a short visit to seul con valpo during her midnight break certainly helps make it easier, although it comes with a company that rachel isn't too sure she wants to keep or she's already forced to keep by now. upon hearing the familiar greeting, she could only offer sebastian a smile at the moment, mouth too full with kimbap for her to say something back. "oh yeah, that was indeed scary," is the first thing rachel tells him once she's done eating. "technically, you did scare me because that video won't leave my head for days. it was a nightmare but like, an awake nightmare, which is more terrifying." at least with the usual nightmare it goes away when she wakes up. well, for the most part. "you really traumatized me with that one but it's nice to see you. just an apple this time, hm?"

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closed  starter  for  RACHEL  (  @detruines  ) location  :  outside  seul  con  valpo,  sometime  after  midnight

-ˋˏ ‏‏‎ ‎꒰ ‏‏‎ ‎🎵 ‏‏‎ ‎꒱‏‏‎ ‎ ──‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎although  sebastian  enjoys  working  the  late-afternoon-into-early-morning  shift  at  the  station,  most people he knows are always asleep by the time he finishes work.  mostly, he  looks  forward  to  the  snippets  of  conversation  gets  here  and  there  :  the  security  guard  who  lets  him  out  after  his  show  ends  ;  the  associate  behind  the  counter  at  the  convenience  store  ;  the  woman  he  always  runs  into  on  the  bench  outside  of  it.  the  same  time,  the  same  bench──  fancy  meeting  you  here.  he  thinks  they're  becoming  friends──  whether  that's  true  or  not  has  remained  to  be  seen  (  sebastián  thinks  everybody  wants  to  be  his  friend.  )  "  buenos  noches,  bella  !  "  he  greets  rachel  with  too  much  energy  for  the  time  of  night  it  is,  dropping  down  onto  the  bench  beside  her  and  raising  his  arm  to  rest  against  the  back  of  the  wood.  there's  no  hesitation  in  the  way  he  just  invites  himself  to  join  her,  cleaning  the  apple  he  purchased  inside  off  on  his  shirt.  "  it’s  nice  to  see  you.  i  thought  i  scared  you  away  last  time  when  i  showed  you  that  video  of  belfegor  eating  that  egg.  “ 

although their words should’ve made her heart flutter, somehow they just leave a bitter taste in her mouth. there’s a sudden urge to bite back at spencer, but she has never been the type to lash out at somebody, even if she’s still upset that they just upped and went on with their life one day. “i know,” jackie responds, grinning cheekily. “you must be going through some crazy shit if you’re out here trying to contact demons. what have you been up to without me, huh?” although it comes out as a silly banter, she truly wants to know all about it. there are so many questions she wants to ask, but for now she decides to bite her tongue ⸻ she doesn’t want to risk scaring spencer off now that they’re here. “oh, i’m just visiting my cousin. he’s a really busy man, so i had to come here and find him myself,” she chuckles. taking a moment to gaze at spencer, she wonders if they would stick around this time, or maybe they would try to run away from her again. either way she thinks it’s worth a try, so she asks, “do you want to check out this bar together? see if we could find any ghost or demon to contact?” it’s her way of saying we should definitely talk. “pretty sure they got some spooky ass drinks we could try too.”

i could never forget you, they should say, but instead settles for, "you're hard to forget." despite going no contact, spencer thinks of jackie often, thinks of reaching out, trying to mend things. but they haven't, clearly, as they're standing shell-shocked in front of her. they know that jackie knows they meant what are you doing in chile, but they only hum in reply, "mm, right. i had the same thought, was hoping to see if could contact any demons. brought my ouija board and everything." they joke, trying to act at all like this is normal, like they haven't been ignoring their connection for so long, "i... well, it's a complicated answer," not really, "just been going through some personal bullshit and my mom used to take me here as a kid. just needed a break." they shrug, "now your turn. what brings you to chile? other than trying to find a ghost at this bar, of course." they resist the urge to move closer. even after all this time, there's a natural draw, there's a palpable connection that's hard to shake.